The Subtle Art of Heartbreak

Life is smart
It beats me up just enough
To expose what’s under my skin
So I can see better
What I’m really made of

Which is almost always
More than I think
It’s the subtle art of heartbreak
That expands my sense of who I am
When you meet someone new
You can tell
If they don’t really know
If they haven’t been stretched that way
They might be light
Fun
A good person by all measures
But it’s like
They only live in the shallow end of the pool

It’s those who have tasted the gruel
Lost in a duel
And found a way
To stand back up and refuel
That I aspire to understand
Pain sucks
Period.
And I avoid it whenever possible

But I find a certain amount is functional
It tells me where to go
It forges strength that I need
To survive and thrive in this world
The resilience to build something
The humility to stay open
And adjust

The funny thing is
When I give my pain purpose like that
It doesn’t hurt so bad
It sort of sits into the tapestry of everything else
And overall, the picture is pretty good

Every great tv show has conflict
Every great movie has drama
Every great conversation has two sides
And every great painting brings something unexpected